A report by The Middle Class Task Force overseen by Vice President Joe Biden cites the University of Missouri-St. Louis as an example of how the Obama administration wants to make post-secondary education more accessible and affordable to the middle class.
Biden visited the campus last spring along with his wife, Dr. Jill Biden, a professor at a Virginia community college, Secretary of Education Arnie Duncan and other senior Missouri lawmakers.
“He had a chance to see everything that was going on here at UMSL with respect to access for the middle class,” Thomas F. George, UM-St.Louis Chancellor, said.
UM-St. Louis hosts a variety of programs beneficial to the advancement of the middle class.
“We have four or five locations at community colleges at which students can take a four-year degree program through UMSL, while still attending their college,” George said. “We plan to integrate a program with Southwestern Illinois College. We are working on a similar program with St. Louis Community College, to introduce nano-medicine courses.”
“We also give scholarships to outstanding college students from community colleges, which makes the transfer easier,” Glen Cope, Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, said. “The program George mentioned at St. Louis Community College currently offers three majors equivalent to UMSL’s. We are signing a new articulation program through our College of Nursing to make it possible to take their courses at St. Louis Community College.”
All of these programs are meant to make post-secondary education both affordable. Another focus of the programs is to guarantee affordability is gained and quality is maintained.
“One of our philosophies at UMSL is that 20% of new fees and tuition should instantly go into scholarship accounts,” Curt Coonrod, Vice Provost for Student Affairs, said.
“This makes it easier to provide scholarships to students. The Advanced Credit Program, for instance, is a good way for students who are in high school to receive college credit at a reduced cost, get a flavor for college-level courses, and a jumpstart on their college career, by having college credits prior to graduating high school.”
The program Coonrod spoke of functions by extending a hand to high schools around the state. At participating high schools, certain courses will be offered that have optional fees.
Should students choose to pay the fees, their grades in these courses will be translated into credit hours at UM-St. Louis.
UM-St. Louis’ efforts are recognized by students as well, who provided positive feedback on UM-St. Louis’ operation and costs.
“On a scale of one to 10, I’d say UMSL is a seven on an affordability scale, 10 being the best,” Kelsey Sloan, freshman, nursing, said. “I don’t receive any scholarships, but then I didn’t apply. I originally chose UMSL because I got a spot in the nursing program, and I loved the dorms, which are affordable as well.”
“UMSL’s better than a lot of schools,” Jacob Koniak, freshman, business administration, said. The quality of education is good for the price. I got a couple of Honors College scholarships, and a couple for minorities.”
“I feel UMSL’s cost is pretty moderate,” Nathan Bowman, sophomore, psychology, said. “Educational quality here is astounding.
One thing I will say is that Financial Aid doesn’t take into consideration whether parents will actually help when providing scholarships. The availability for non-need-based students is low.”
With plans to expand their services, UM-St. Louis may continue to support the middle class for years to come.